Woman{3 s brassiere

ABSTRACT

A woman&#39;&#39;s brassiere having a pair of breast enclosing means supported by a waistband and shoulder straps and a pair of elongated and tapered support strips associated with each breast enclosing means. The base ends of the support strips are attached side by side to the exterior surface of the breast enclosing means adjacent to the waistband. The tapered ends of the pair of support strips are connected together and means are provided to adjustably connect the tapered ends to the associated shoulder strap. The pair of support members independently support the breast of the wearer from the sides of the breast.

United States Patent 11 1 Dubin WOMANS BRASSIERE [76] Inventor: Pauline Dubin, 1250 Palm St., San

Luis Obispo. Calif. 93401 22 Filed: Dec. 2, 1974 211 Appl. No.: 528,983

1 51 Sept. 30, 1975 3.439.682 4/1969 Detru 128/510 X FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 723,098 2/1955 United Kingdom 128/460 Primary E.ruminer Werner H. Schroeder Assistant E.\'aminerMoshe I. Cohen Attorney, Agent, or Firn1Bernard P. Draehlis [57] ABSTRACT A womans brassiere having a pair of breast enclosing means supported by a waistband and shoulder straps and a pair of elongated and tapered support strips associated with each breast enclosing means. The base ends of the support strips are attached side by side to the exterior surface of the breast enclosing means adjacent to the waistband. The tapered ends of the pair of support strips are connected together and means are provided to adjustably connect the tapered ends to the associated shoulder strap. The pair of support members independently support the breast of the wearer from the sides of the breast.

7 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures US. Patent Sept. 30,1975 Sheet 1 of2 3,908,670

US. Patent Sept. 30,1975

WOMAN'S BRASSIERE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The object of a woman's brassiere is to provide support and contour shaping of the breasts of the wearer. The most basic type of brassier is formed from a pair of bust cups supported on a waistband and shoulder straps. The bust cups enclose the breasts of the wearer and provide some support and shaping. To provide further support and shaping qualities, additional adjustable support members are sometimes added to the basic brassiere configuration. See, for example, US. Pat. No. 2,175,676 and US. Pat. No. 2,362,974.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a womans brassiere formed from a soft stretch material to enclose the breasts of the wearer, held in place by a waistband and shoulder straps. For each breast, two longitudinally tapered strips of firm material are attached at their wide ends, side by side to the outer surface of the breast enclosing material adjacent to the waistband and are thus under the breasts of the wearer. The tapered ends of the strips are connected together and are provided with means to adjustably attach them to the shoulder straps above the breast of the wearer. When the tapered strips are thus attached, they act to lift the breast from the sides and hold it upward and forward in a comfortable and aesthetic position. The tapered strips can be further adjusted by separating them to let the breast protrude for a pointed contour or by overlapping them to provide a more rounded contour. 1

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a front view of a first preferred embodiment of a brassiere constructed in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a back view of the brassiere of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a front view of a second preferred embodiment of a brassiere constructed in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the brassiere of FIG. 3 showing a different adjustment of the support strips.

FIG. 5 is a back view of the brassiere of FIG. 3

FIG. 6 is an alternate configuration for the back of the brassiere of FIG. 3.

FIG. 7 is an alternate configuration for the back of the brassicre of FIG. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIG. 1, a first preferred embodiment, the brassiere of the present invention is shown. A waist band 10 encircles the body of the wearer. The waistband 10 is adapted to stretch to accomodate varying circumferences of wearers bodies. This can be accomplished by either having portions of the waistband made from an elastic material or by having the entire waistband made from elastic material. The waistband 10 is preferrably fastened in the front by a fastener 12. The fastener 12 may be any conventional type of fastener such as a button or hook and eye. The front fastening of the waistband 10 is preferred for the convenience of the wearer, however, a rear or side fastening may be used.

Shoulder straps and are sewn or otherwise connected to the waistband 10 at the rear thereof as shown in FIG. 2 and are of sufficient length to fit over the shoulders of the wearer.

Breast enclosing means 30 and 35 are sewn or otherwise attached to the waistband 10 on either side of the fastener 12 and are of an appropriate shape to enclose the breasts of the wearer. The upper portion of the breast enclosing means 30 and 35 are attached to the ends of the shoulder straps 20 and 25, respectively. In the preferred embodiment. the breast enclosing means 30 and 35 are permanently attached to the shoulder straps 20 and 30 by sewing. If desired however. conventional fasteners could be used.

The breast enclosing means 30 and 35 are fabricated from any desired type of stretchable or elastic material. A lace or knit material is preferred for its aesthetic and comfort qualities.

A pair of support strips 40, 46 and 50, 56 are provided for each breast. The support strips 40, 46 and 50, 56 are fabricated from firm cloth or other non-stretch material. The support strips are elongated and tapered in shape and the base ends 41, 47 and 51, 57 have straight edges while the tapered ends 42, 48 and 52, 58 have rounded edges. The base end 41, 47 of one pair of support strips 40 and 46 are sewn to the breast enclosing means 30 on the outer surface thereof adjacent to the waistband l0 and spaced laterally from each other.

The support strips 40 and 46 are then sewn together at their tapered ends 42 and 48. A fastener 49 is provided to connect the joined tapered ends 42 and 48 to the shoulder strap 20. The fastener 49 may be of any conventional type such as a hook and eye and preferrably will have adjustable positions as shown in FIG. I.

The support strips 40 and 46 attached to the breast enclosing means 30 and to the shoulder strap 20 as described above, form a sling or swing to lift the breast of the wearer by the sides and front and hold it upward and forward in a comfortable position. By adjusting the fastener 49 differing amounts of support can be obtained.

In a similar manner, the base ends 51, 57 of the second pair of support strips 50 and 56 are sewn to the breast enclosing means 35 on the outer surface thereof adjacent to the waistband l0 and spaced laterally from each other. The support strips 50 and 56 are joined together at their tapered ends 52 and 58. A fastener 59 is provided to connect the joined tapered ends 52 and 58 to the shoulder strap 25.

The support strips 50 and 56 attached to the breast enclosing means 35 and to the shoulder strap 20, form a sling or swing to lift the breast of the wearer by the sides and front and hold it upward and forward in a confortable position. By adjusting the fastener 59 dif' fering amounts of support may be obtained. Further adjustments of support and shaping may be obtained by either separating or overlapping the pairs of support strips 40, 46 and 50, 56.

It should be understood that the size and shape of the breast enclosing means 30 and 35 and the pairs of support stips 40, 46 and 50, 56 can be varied in the manufacture of the brassiere to accommodate various sizes of breasts as is now done with conventional types of brassiers.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a second preferred embodiment is shown. A waistband encircles the body of the wearer and is fastened in front by a conventional fastener 112. Breast enclosing means and are attached to the waistband 110. The breast enclosing means 130 and 135 in the second preferred embodi ment extend around the back and over the shoulders of the wearer to form a one piece unit and to provide added comfort as is shown in the back view of FIGS. 5, 6 and 7. Shoulder straps 120 and 125 are attached to the waistband 110 at the rear thereof and are of sufficient length to fit over the shoulders of the wearer. Fasteners 114 are provided at the front of the breast enclosing means 130 and 135 to allow greater adjustment of the front closure of the breast enclosing means.

In a manner similar to the first preferred embodiment, a pair of support strips 140. 146 and 150, 156 are provided for each breast. The base ends 141 and 147 of one pair of support strips 140 and 146 are sewn to the breast enclosing means 130 on the outer surface thereof adjacent to the waistband 110 and spaced laterally from each other. The support strips 140 and 146 are then joined together at their tapered ends 142 and 148 and fastened to the shoulder strap 120 with fastener 149.

Similarly, the base ends 151 and 157 of the other pair of support strips 150 and 156 are sewn to the breast enclosing means 135 on the outer surface thereof adjacent to the wasitband I and spaced laterally from each other. The support strips 150 and 156 are joined together at their tapered ends 152 and 158 and fastened to the shoulder strap 125 with fastener 159.

When the support strips are attached to the shoulder straps. they form slings to lift the breasts of the wearer by the sides and front and hold it upward and forward in a comfortable position. By adjusting the positions of the fastener I49 and 159 differing amounts of support may be obtained. Further. adjustments of support and shaping may be obtained by varying the lateral positions of the support strips. In FIG. 3, the support strip pairs I40, I46 and 150, 156 are shown separated to provide a pointed contour of the breast. FIG. 4 shows the strip pairs I40, 146 and ISO, 156 in an overlapping position to give a more rounded contour of the breasts.

It should be apparent that various configurations of the breast enclosing means at the back of the wearer are available for the second preferred embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG. 5 shows a square neck shape and the shoulder straps 120 and 125 going straight down to the waistband 110. FIG. 6 shows a rounded neck for the breast enclosing means and a diagonal configuration for the shoulder straps 120 and 125. Obviously, the diagonal configuration for shoulder straps could be used with the square neck design. FIG. 7 shows the shoulder straps and stopping at the shoulders of the wearer. In this configuration the shoulder straps are sewn securely to the breast enclosing means.

What is claimed is:

l. A womans brassiere comprising:

a waistband engageable around the body of the wearer;

a pair of shoulder straps adapted to pass over the shoulders of the wearer and to have ends at the front of the wearer spaced above said waistband;

breast enclosing means attached to said waistband and adapted to enclose the breasts of the wearer;

two pair of elongated tapered support strips, each of said support strips having a base end and a tapered end, each pair of support strips being associated with one breast of the wearer;

the base ends of each pair of support strips being at tached to said breast enclosing means adjacent to said waistband and spaced laterally from each other;

the tapered ends of each pair of support strips being attached together;

fastener means to connect the tapered ends of each pair of support strips to the end of the associated shoulder strap, whereby the support strips support the breasts of the wearer.

2. A womans brassiere as claimed in claim I, wherein said pair of shoulder straps are attached at the back of the brassiere to said waistband.

3. A womans brassiere as claimed in claim I, wherein said waistband is adapted to be fastened at the front.

4. A womans brassiere as claimed in claim I, wherein said breast enclosing means is attached to the ends of said pair of shoulder straps.

5. A womans brassiere as claimed in claim I, wherein said breast enclosing means is made from an elastic material.

6. A womans brassiere as claimed in claim 1, wherein said breast enclosing means extends over the shoulders and around the back of the wearer.

7. A womans brassiere as claimed in claim 1, wherein said fastener means have adjustable positions. 

1. A woman''s brassiere comprising: a waistband engageable around the body of the wearer; a pair of shoulder straps adapted to pass over the shoulders of the wearer and to have ends at the front of the wearer spaced above said waistband; breast enclosing means attached to said waistband and adapted to enclose the breasts of the wearer; two pair of elongated tapered support strips, each of said support strips having a base end and a tapered end, each pair of support strips being associated with one breast of the wearer; the base ends of each pair of support strips being attached to said breast enclosing means adjacent to said waistband and spaced laterally from each other; the tapered ends of each pair of support strips being attached together; fastener means to connect the tapered ends of each pair of support strips to the end of the associated shoulder strap, whereby the support strips support the breasts of the wearer.
 2. A woman''s brassiere as claimed in claim 1, wherein said pair of shoulder straps are attached at the back of the brassiere to said waistband.
 3. A woman''s brassiere as claimed in claim 1, wherein said waistband is adapted to be fastened at the front.
 4. A woman''s brassiere as claimed in claim 1, wherein said breast enclosing means is attached to the ends of said pair of shoulder straps.
 5. A woman''s brassiere as claimed in claim 1, wherein said breast enclosing means is made from an elastic material.
 6. A woman''s brassiere as claimed in claim 1, wherein said breast enclosing means extends over the shoulders and around the back of the wearer.
 7. A woman''s brassiere as claimed in claim 1, wherein said fastener means have adjustable positions. 